Can-seaming machine.



J. W. NICHOLS. CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

AIPLIOATION FILED JAN. 30, 1913.

Patented May 19. 1914.

'9 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. W. NICHOLS.

' mm smmme MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1913. v 1,096,937. Paten ed May 19, 19M

' w 67 2 9 SHEETB-BHEBT 2.

39 05 as Q] x 63 Q7 3 I Q0 39 J. W. NICHOLS.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. a0, 1913.

1,096,937. PatentedMay 19, 1914.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

J. W.'NICHOLS.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1913. 1 ,096,937.

Patented May 19; 191% 9 snnn'rs-snim'r 4 @fie Md? ,0 y WNW a -.M-O a pm 1 k 7 i 0 O o I I 1 3 l 'J. W. NICHOLS.

DAN SEAMING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. so. 1913.

Patentnd May 1.9, 1914.

J SHEET8-SHEET 5.

Jweufi L/EESG ...||I1IIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII V J. W. NICHOLS. CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. a0, 1913.

1,096,937 Patented May19,1914.

9 SHEETS-SHEET a.

' ,g 52 60 Z] Z] J. W. NICHOLS.

CAN SEAMING MAQHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 80, 1913 1,096,937. Patented May 19, 1914.

9 SHEETBBHBET '7.

K2 66 zdgg cw I /IS' J. W. NICHOLS.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE. APPLIGATION TILED JAN. so, 1913.

1,096,937. Patented May 19, 1914 9 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

J. W. NICHOLS.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. so, 1913.

v Patented May 19, 1914,

-rotatecl on their erirriio JESSE W. NICHOLS, 01F CHICAGQ, ILLINOIS.

GABLSEAMING- MACHINE.

.Lkppliention filed January ill), 1913.

Specification of Letters Patent.

"atontrd Illa HP. will.

Serial No. $15,137.

Be it; known that l. Jessi-1 W. Nionots, a eitiznwn oil the United States, residing at. t hieano, in the (minty oi? Cook and State olf illlinoia-i hove invented eertain new and useful l inmovements in (lmrfieaming Ma chines, oi whit-h the following is a speeith r: lion.

h'l'y invention relates to can seaming niarhineaand rotors lmrtienlnrly', althrnlgh not. exclusively, to machines which are znlapted to form flanges on the ends of round can bodies and to apply am. raps to one or both of the ends of ranch hodies.

i am aware that hereto'fore machines have been used to term thingies on can bodies, and to unite the rape to such hodi in some of the TDLLClllDDS ol the prior art means have been proi'ided by which in a single nnirhine a pin 'ality o't tan bodies are siinnltzinnonsly flanged.

fit, is the ohjeel; of my invention to elleet a saving of time and increase of prmlnrtion by providing a. machine in which both the Hanging and (am-applying operations are performed on a large i'inn'iber of can bodies Slllll'llhtLflCOllSlS'l the nnrehino being: so de signed that before the Hanging ope Minn, "for example, rompleted on one can holly it is started on another man holly. This result is accomplished h}? moons of various meehanislfn whieh will he described in detail hereafter.

Stated in general terms, my invention consists in using a plurality of se'lnirato ma chines, each machine performing one or more slope oi? theeornplrte ope ntion. The can bodies and raps are fed to these machines, and as the forming operations are aeeoin 'llished the cams are antinrnitirall moved From one machine to anothen l laeh machine is provided with n plnr; lity o l 1H1 warriors which are mounted on a rotatalile shaft, and as this shaft; is rotated the heads between which the (ram are (harried 'or elamped on arch carrier are silnnltanronsly own axes, while the edges oi the cans are hronr'ht, into eonlart with suitable forming dies. which, in lamjnnrtion with the carrier head, perform the suitable operation on the can.

These and other ad rant ages ot: my inrrir tion will he n'iore'readily nnderstooifl hy rel' eronro to the auompanyiniri (lln\\'iHI.- in which:

gure l in a diairramnnltie rear elevation of the ran Flilllillltl' nnnhinrs. \rhirh. in (on-- jllllt'lliill. prrl'orm the romplrlr thinning and ap-applying operations-z: Fig. i in an enlarged l'l'n rlnrnl'ar)" srrtion. talren on the line ol Fig. 1: Fig. I) is an enlarged 'l"a;1jin(mlar .sri'lion. taken on the line 3- o'l l ihj. l: Fig. l ii: a rear elevation of one of the ran .wl'tlllllllll nmrh'inos shown in Fig. l, a portion of the raring; liningremoved to show the interior arrangement nl parts; l ipj. T is a l'ront elevation of the machine shown in l igz'. -l. the roar larv ol' the rasing being: removed and rrrlain ol' the parts living shown in vrrtirzl Fll'llllll: ll U is a rear ohw'ation ol the ma hinr waning. the l'ront' wall ol whirl: has horn removed: Fig. T is a \rl'tiral section through a portion ol the llanired (an hody and the rap llll'll ito he applied to the mime: Fiji. 9 is a l'ragnnaitarV enlar z'od sert'ion. lzllirn on [hr line ol Fig. l; liin'. U in a r;\ 1 1noia a,i' enlarged section. taken on the line -Si ol Fig/1; Fig. ll) is an enlarged l 'zlg'mrnlnnr neotion. taken on the line lib-ll) ol Fig. 1: Fig. ll in an enlarged fillllltll]. taken on tho lintfil -l of Fig. 1. being; similar to Fig. 1) but showing a grader nnmhrr oi ports in position: l i i'. I) is an enlarged vortiral sortiondalwn on the line .t2---li of We. 1; Fig. 13 is a plan of one ol the can rarrirrs; Fig. ill-l1 is a side elevation ol' the tzll'lltt' shown in Fig. 13; in: iii in a fragrnienlary srrtion, taken on the line 15 01' Fig. 1, hot showing: a modified eonstrurtion oi? the :lornirr head and former dies of the seaming marhinrz,

Fig.1; ll: is an enlarrjed fragmentary section. taken on the line lo---lii of Fig. I. hid; .Qhon in; lower parts than are shown in Fifi. l and illustrating the form ol the can and ran rap more rlrarly than in Fig. 15: Fin. l? is an enlarged frnnmentarV section ol the moditirntion shown in Fig. l and taken in the Home po ition as: Fig. with relation to Fig. l; and Fizz. 18 is an enlarged fragmrnlary section of the moditiiralion shown in lin'. I5 and tak n in the same position an; l ie'. with ridation to Fig. 1.

ln prrl'm-lninn llnran-seaming" operation l prrtmfinhl use four marhinrs, indicated as A. ll, 1 and l), rrs m-tirely, shown in Fig.

lit)

- formed in this machine."

1. The machine A is provided with a hopper 20 through which the can bodies 21 are fed to the machine, and the chute 22 leads from the machine A to the machine B. The latter machine is also provided with a hopper 23 through which the can caps-24 are fed to the machine B. The chute 25 leads from the machine B to the machine C, and.

the chute 26 leads from the machine C to the machine D. The latter is provided with a delivery chute 27 from which the seamed cans are delivered. Each of themachines A, B, C and D is operated by a belt, 28, or is driven in any other suitable manner.

As will be described in detail hereafter, .the can bodies 21 are first flanged in the machine A, then pass through the chute 22 to the machine B. The can caps24 are fed to this machine, and the first operation of fastening the caps to the can bodies is per- The can bodies with their attached caps then pass through the chute 25 to the machine C, where a fur ther seaming operation is performed, and they then pass through the chute 26 to the machine D, where the final seaming operation takes place: From this machine the finished seamed cans are delivered through the chute 27.

Having thus described the operation of my improved machines, I will now pass to a detailed description of the same. Each of the machines A,"B, C and D is provided with a driving shaft 29, which is rotated by a belt 28, or in any other suitable manner. The shaft 29 is mounted in the bearings 30 and 31 of the front and rear walls of the casing with which each of the machines is provided. v

In the case of the machine A the disk 32 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 29. The disk 32 has on its periphery a plurality of carriers, each of which consists of a pair of semi-circular yokes 33. The ends of each of these yokes are connected by the arms 34. Passing through each of the bearing blocks 34 and 34 of the arms 34 of each carrier is a hollow shaft 35 having a shouldered end 36. A spring 37 encircles the shaft 35 and bears on one end against the shouldered end 36 and on the other against the block 34, thereby normally forcing the shaft 35 in an,

' outward direction so that the end of this siaft is brought in contact with the cam 38.

he shafts 35 on one side of the machine, as clearly indicated in F igs. 2 and 3, are made integral with the former heads 39, the peripheries of which are suitably cut to form the pinions 40. former head 39 is provided with a shoulder 41, against which one endof thecaribody 21 is adapted to come in contact. The opposite shafts 35 are made integralnvith the former heads 42 provided with the shoulders 43, against which the opposite end of the ions with which it is in mesh.

The inner portion of each 70- mg or beveled head 46, which engages a corresponding beveled surface of the former plate 47. A spring 48 incloses the shaft 44 and bears on one end against the piston 45 and on the opposite end against the retainer plate 49, thereby normally carrying the shaft 44 inwardly within the hollow shaft 35 and bringing the former plate 47 into a central position with relation to the former head 39 or 42, as the case may be. The gear 50 is loosely mounted on the shaft 29, and is in mesh with each of the pinions 40, which are formed integral with the former heads 39. As clearly shown in Fig. 4, the rear wall 51 of the machine casing for each of the machines A, B, C and D is provided with a gear-segment 52, which is at all times engaged by at least oneof the pinions 40. It will be evident that as the shaft 29 is rotated and the disk 32, with its carriers, is corre- 90 spondingly rotated, the pinions 40 which are in engagement with the gear segment 52, will 'be themselves rotated,'and Will -transmittheir movement to .the gear 50,"'which, in turn, will serve to rotate all of the pin- The cam members 38, which are contained within the rear wall 51 and the front wall 53 of the casing of each machine, are of varying thickness, and have their ends located toward the upper part of each machine so that, as best shown in Fig. 6, a space 54 is formed between these ends. Each ofthe walls 51 and 53 of the casing of the machine A is provided with a former die 55 having an inwardly projecting lip 56. These former dies 55, as best shown in Fig. 5, pass only partially around the front and rear walls of the casing, and there is a space at the upper part of the machine between the ends of these former dies.

Having thus described the construction of the machine A, its operation may now be readily understood. As shown in Fig. 1,

the can bodies 21 are fed to the machine A at its upper portion. Each of the can bodies is received in one of the carriers having the yokes 33, 33. On account of the fact thatwhen any carrier is in position at the upper part of the machine the hollow shafts 35 are no longer in contact with the cams 38, the tension of the springs. 37 causes the former heads 39 and 42' to'be withdrawn out of the path of the descending can bodies until the bottoms of the rec'ssesy57 engage the ends of the blocks 34*. As the shaft 29 continues to rotate the ends of the. hollow shafts 35 are brought into engagement withthe cams 38, thereby moving theformer heads 39 and 42 inwardly, and the ends of the can answer i a she ft 529 throughout the extent of the former dies. As the former head 39. is rotated by its engagement with the gear' 50, the edges of the can body 21 are gradually flanged as they come in contact with the lips 56 of the former dies The position of the various parts when the can bOtliJS are first brought in contact with the lips 56 is indicated in Fig. 9 and after a can body has been carried around the machine A to Where the length of the lips 56 has become greater, it will be noticed that the edges of the can body 21 have been flanged by the cooperative action between the lips 56 and the former plates 47.

fhe it'orlner plates, as indicated in l! ig. 3,

are adapted to move in a radial direction to ward the shaft 29, and in doing so :l'oree outwardly the beveled boats 46 on the ends of the shafts dd against the tension of the springs 11-8, thereby holding the peripheries of the former plates 4-7 in spring engage-- meat with the edges of the can body 21. lVhcn one of the can bodies 21 has reached a position slightly beyond the line 8-3 of Fig. fl, the ends of the hollow'shafts 35 are disengaged from the came 38, thereby Withdrawing the former heads 39 and 42. The an body 21 is then carried into the curved end of the chute 92 and passes to the machine B.

The nun-chines B, C and D are, in many respects, identically constructed, and also have many features in common with machine A, which has previously been de scribed, For example each of these mar chines is provided wit 7 rear wall 51 and a front wall 53, and has the cams the gear 50, the gcarscgment and a. plurality of carriers, each of which is provided with a pinion 40. Instead ol? having the carriers consist of yolrcs which are directly carried by the disk 32, in machine .A,-machines iii, (l and D are pro-- vidcd'with a disk 5.) to which are bolted the guides 60, as clearly shown in l igs. 5, ill. andlB. Each of the carriers, represented as a whole by (31, is yilrm'ided with a lug (32,

which is held in position by the engagement of the guides 60 against its outer lace. it bolt (33 asses through the slot o l: in this lug so tiat the carrier 61 isonabhal to be moved outwardly and inwardly away from and towardthe shaft 29. Each of the carriers 61 is provided with yolres 33, the some as the yokes used in, machine A. The two a casing having a.

arms of each of these yokes are connected by the arm 34:, on which is mounted the blocks 34 and 3d". The former heads, which will be further described hereafter, are the some in principle as, those illustrated in connection with n'iaciiiue A, but no il'ormer plates t? with their associated parts are employed. llblach oi the machines B, C and D has an outer former die 55, and. an inner 'i'ormcr die 55, the latter being carried by the gear 50, but these dies are shaped in ZLCCOIllZlIlCO with the particular requirenumts of the ditl'ercnt machines.

The configuration ot the various parts which are typical of machine 13 is indicated in Fig. 8. The former dies 55 and 55 are provided at their inner edges with a groove .65 between the shoulder (d5 and the lip U7.

The former head 39 ol. this machine has a gri'iove (it? for receiving the lips 7 oi the former dies 55 and 55, and is also provided with the peripheral projection (59. The surface of the inner end of the former head 39 is suitably formed to receive the can cap 241..

in machines 13, C and l a cam is per nlancntly l astened in poz-iition on the casing of the machine. Alter the carriers have been rotated into a position in which the can bodies with their attached cups are ready to be delivered from the machines, the inner surface oil each carrier is brought into con-- tact with the outer edge of the cam 70, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, and the carrier is moved outwardly in a radial directicm, this movement being allowed by the slot G l. lin this way the can is more readily broi'lght into engagement with the curved edge oi. the dmvnwam lly oxtmu ling member 71. ol the delivery chute 25 or so, as the case may lugand the can is carried by this member 71 into the main portion oi, the chute. As the sha'lt 2,9 continues to rotate. the carriers are brought out of engagement with the rain ill and. again more toward the shall. 1%) into their norn'lal positions.

Machine (lie provided with a ram 72 l'astencd to the bearing i l, as best indicated in Figs. (3 and H. ,llnoli ol' the carriers ll o'l this machine llila a laterally movable bar '73 carrying al one end 'lliodievolrd l'ortning whorl Tl, the opium-die cull ol the bar T3 belug bent to l'ornl the engaging nuunber 7:"). The central portion ol' the bar T3 is n'ovidcd Will] a lug TIZ contained within lllo recess Ti ol the rarrier. 'l'his lug is outraged by the spring is the opposite end ol which engage: the end in" the rem-as. lllrl'cln' normally tend ing: in move the ar Til lo llll rigld, as incliralecl in Fig. ll. .ts indicat d in high. l) and ll, the 'l'ornicr dies 53 and 55' of the nnu'hinc (l have the lips TS and the curved surliaccs till, the object ol whirl] will presently be desoribc'd. 'lllc lorinor head 3!) is oi he some shape as the 'l'ornlcr head ol' machine l Machine l is similar to machine B in that .heads 84, which correspond to one set of former heads 42 in machine A, in machines B, C and D are merely for the purpose of holding-one end of the can body in position. Each of these retaining heads 84 is provided with a flange 85 and a ring..86, between which and the flange 85 are springs 87. The former heads 39 of machines B, C and D are similar to those of machine A. The end of the can body engages the ring 86, which is resiliently held in position by the'springs 87. If it is desired to apply can caps to both ends of the can body, it will be evident that the retaining heads 84 on the machines.

B, G and D maybe replaced by their former heads, and on each machine additional former dies 55 and 55? appropriately shaped may also be used.

Having thus described the Various parts which I employ in my machines B, C and D, the operation of the same may now be readily understood: When one of the flanged can bodies enters the upper portion of the machine B through the chute 22, it is received in one of the carriers 61. At the same time a can cap 24 is fed into the carrier.

When the latter is in its receiving position, the former head 39 and the retaining head 84 are in theirwithdrawn positions, in the same manner as previously described in connection with machine A. The can cap which I; refer to use in connection with my invention is formed as shown in Fig. 7 The can cap 24 has a groove 88 in its periphery, so that the flange 89 of the can body may be slipped into this groove.

As shown in Fig. 7 the groove 88 is bounded by the edge portion 90, the intermediate portion 91, and the flange portion 92. As the carrier'61 containing a can body and can cap is c'arried Within the machine B, the ends of the shafts 35 are brought into engagement with the cam 38, and the former head 39 and the retaining head 84 are moved inwardly, so that the can cap is brought into engagement with the end of the can body, the flange 89 lying within the groove 88. The edges of the can body and cauwitap thenengage the former dies 55 and a being between the edge portion 90 and the 55, as indicated in Fig. 8, thereby turning the edge portion 90 of the can into a position in which it is parallel with the intermediate portion 91, the flange 8 9 of the can body intermediate portion 91 of the can cap. After the can body with its attached cap has been carried: around the machine B, it is and the edge portion 90of the can cap is engaged by the edge of the forming wheel 74, i so that theedge portion 90 of the can cap 1 is forced snugly against the flange 89 of the can body. After this operation has been performed, the can body and its cap are next delivered to the machine D, where the former dies55 and 55 are of a still different shape, as indicated in Fig. 10, and serve to fold the edge portion 90, the flange 89,and the. intermediate portion 91 into a plane parallel with the main axis of the can body. The seaming operation has now been completed, and the finished can body, with its attached cap, is delivered through the delivery chute 27. i

In Figs. 15, 16, 17 and 18 I have shown slightly modified forms of machines for attaching the can cap to the can body after the can body has been flanged in the machine A. The can cap, as clearly shown in Fig. 16, has a flange 93 around its periphery, this flange being connected with the main portion of the can cap by the offset 94. In the machine B the former dies 55 and 55 in that portion of the machine where these dies are first engaged by the can cap and can body are formed, as indicated in Fig. 16, with .a curved surface 95 between the lips 96 and 97. The lips 97 of the former dies 55 and 55 gradually increase in length, so that as the in the machine B the flange 96 of the can cap is gradually folded aroundthe flange 89 of the can body, until we have the condition indicated in Fig. 17 The can body with its 1 can body and the can cap are carried around attached can cap is now delivered to machine C, where the former dies 55 and 55 are so formed that this folding operation is completed, and the can cap is finally at tached to the can body in the manner indicated in Fig. 18. From machine C the can bodies with their attached caps are delivered to the final delivery chute, the machine D being eliminated.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that-many changes could be made in the detailed mechanism of the machines which-I have-described without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

"What I claim is: 1. In a can-shaping machine, the combination of a casing, a rotatable shaft within said casing, a plurality of carriers mounted on said shaft, each of said carriers adaptedto receive a canbody, a former die attached to said casing, said die adapted to be engagedby said can bodies during the rotation of said shaft, and means for movingeach of said carriers radially away from said shaft when said carrier reaches a redetermined position in said machine, su stantially as described.

2. In a can-seaming machine, the combination of a rotatable shaft, a carrier mounted on said shaft, means for feeding a can body and can cap to said carrier, means for rotating said can body on its own axis, a former die with which the can and its cap are engaged by rotation of said shaft, whereby the ed 'esof the can body and can cap are folded about each other, and a forming wheel on said carrier for forcing the edges of said can and said can. cap into close engagement with each other, substantially as described. a

3. In a can seaming machine the combination of a rotatable shaft, a carrier mounted on said shaft, means for feeding a can body and can cap to said carrier, means for rotating said can body on its own axis, a

former die with'which the can and its cap are engaged by rotation of said shaft, Whereby the edges of the can body and can cap are I folded about each other, a forming wheel on said carrier for forcing the edges of said can and said cap in close engagement with each other, and cam means for controlling the movement of said forming wheel, substantially as described.

4. 'In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotatable shaft, a carrier mounted on said shaft, means for feeding a can body and can cap to said carrier, means for rotating said can body on its own axis, a former die with which the can and its cap are-engaged by rotation of said'shaft, whereby the edges of the can body and can cap are folded about each other, a forming wheel on said carrier for forcing the edges 'of said can and said .cap in close-engagement with each other, spring means for normally moving said forming wheel away from the folded edges of said can and said can cap, nd earn means-for moving 'said forming wheel toward said intcrfolded edges, substantially as described.

JESSE W. NICHOLS. Witnesses:

A. B. S'rnA'rmN, O. LAAGE, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

